Chapter 7
**Sera's POV**
Two weeks back in Blackwood territory, and I barely recognized myself in the mirror.
Not physically — though the color had returned to my cheeks and my eyes no longer looked hollow. It was something deeper.
I stood straighter. Spoke louder. Took up space without apologizing.
Nyx was awake — truly awake — for the first time since I'd mated with Kael. And she was *furious* about the years we'd lost.
*"Never again,"* she repeated daily, like a mantra. *"We bow to no one."*
The pack doctor, an elderly wolf named Helene, confirmed what I already knew. "Twins. Both strong. Both healthy." She looked at me over her spectacles. "And both carrying the Shadow Wolf gene."
I stilled. "Both of them?"
"The markers are unmistakable." Helene set down her instruments. "Your father will want to know."
"I'll tell him."
Shadow Wolves were impossibly rare — one every five hundred years, the elders said. The idea that *two* could be born at once...
It was unprecedented.
That evening, I sat with my father in his study. A fire crackled in the hearth. Outside, snow dusted the mountain peaks.
"Shadow Wolves," my father repeated, his voice carefully measured. "Two of them."
"Yes."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then: "The father. He's an Alpha?"
"Northern Ridge Pack." I didn't flinch. "Alpha Kael Voss."
My father's expression didn't change, but the glass in his hand cracked from the pressure of his grip.
"Voss." The name came out like a curse. "That boy whose pack begged us for a trade alliance last year?"
"The same."
"And he doesn't know about the pups?"
"No."
"Does he know who you are?"
"No." I met my father's gaze. "He thinks I'm an orphan with no pack, no family, and no power. He thinks my wolf is average."
Something dangerous flickered across my father's face. "He had a Shadow Wolf as his mate. The heir of Blackwood. And he was too blind to see it."
"I hid it well."
"You shouldn't have had to." His voice hardened. "You hid yourself because he made you feel like you needed to be less."
I couldn't argue with that.
My father stood, moving to the window. His reflection stared back — cold, calculating.
"The pups are Blackwood heirs. They carry our blood, our legacy." He turned back to me. "Kael Voss will never touch them."
"Agreed."
"If he comes—"
"He won't find me."
My father's smile was thin and sharp. "And if he does, he'll wish he hadn't."
Later that night, I stood on the balcony of my childhood room. The mountains stretched before me, endless and ancient.
I placed both hands on my stomach and felt the faintest flutter — like butterfly wings.
"You'll never wonder if you're enough," I promised them. "You'll never make yourselves small for someone else's comfort."
Nyx rumbled in agreement, warm and fierce.
For the first time in three years, I felt like myself.
And myself was terrifying.
---
Two weeks back in Blackwood territory, and I barely recognized myself in the mirror.
Not physically — though the color had returned to my cheeks and my eyes no longer looked hollow. It was something deeper.
I stood straighter. Spoke louder. Took up space without apologizing.
Nyx was awake — truly awake — for the first time since I'd mated with Kael. And she was *furious* about the years we'd lost.
*"Never again,"* she repeated daily, like a mantra. *"We bow to no one."*
The pack doctor, an elderly wolf named Helene, confirmed what I already knew. "Twins. Both strong. Both healthy." She looked at me over her spectacles. "And both carrying the Shadow Wolf gene."
I stilled. "Both of them?"
"The markers are unmistakable." Helene set down her instruments. "Your father will want to know."
"I'll tell him."
Shadow Wolves were impossibly rare — one every five hundred years, the elders said. The idea that *two* could be born at once...
It was unprecedented.
That evening, I sat with my father in his study. A fire crackled in the hearth. Outside, snow dusted the mountain peaks.
"Shadow Wolves," my father repeated, his voice carefully measured. "Two of them."
"Yes."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then: "The father. He's an Alpha?"
"Northern Ridge Pack." I didn't flinch. "Alpha Kael Voss."
My father's expression didn't change, but the glass in his hand cracked from the pressure of his grip.
"Voss." The name came out like a curse. "That boy whose pack begged us for a trade alliance last year?"
"The same."
"And he doesn't know about the pups?"
"No."
"Does he know who you are?"
"No." I met my father's gaze. "He thinks I'm an orphan with no pack, no family, and no power. He thinks my wolf is average."
Something dangerous flickered across my father's face. "He had a Shadow Wolf as his mate. The heir of Blackwood. And he was too blind to see it."
"I hid it well."
"You shouldn't have had to." His voice hardened. "You hid yourself because he made you feel like you needed to be less."
I couldn't argue with that.
My father stood, moving to the window. His reflection stared back — cold, calculating.
"The pups are Blackwood heirs. They carry our blood, our legacy." He turned back to me. "Kael Voss will never touch them."
"Agreed."
"If he comes—"
"He won't find me."
My father's smile was thin and sharp. "And if he does, he'll wish he hadn't."
Later that night, I stood on the balcony of my childhood room. The mountains stretched before me, endless and ancient.
I placed both hands on my stomach and felt the faintest flutter — like butterfly wings.
"You'll never wonder if you're enough," I promised them. "You'll never make yourselves small for someone else's comfort."
Nyx rumbled in agreement, warm and fierce.
For the first time in three years, I felt like myself.
And myself was terrifying.
---